GCHQ: Minority Report

Why do the UK's security and intelligence agencies find it so hard to hire Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic recruits? What is GCHQ doing about it?

In a new BBC radio documentary, Asian Network and 5 live presenter Nihal Arthanayake has been given unique access to talk to Black and Asian staff in GCHQ about their experiences. He also hears from members of those communities in Leeds and Bradford about their attitudes to the security and intelligence agencies.

Nihal interviewed GCHQ Director Robert Hannigan for the documentary. In the course of their conversation, he told Nihal:

"We need the cutting edge of technology and we need the best people and the most creative people. You get that creativity by throwing different backgrounds and experiences together. We've always done that. We did it at Bletchley Park in the Second World War. We've done it for the last nearly one hundred years. And we need to keep doing it, so we need to be representative of modern Britain. We need all that richness of diversity. Putting that all in one melting pot is what gets the magic really."